George Counts entered graduate school at the University of Chicago in 1913. At this time the School of Education was influenced by John Dewey and Francis W. Parker. Educators were determined to develop a plan for the science of education. Charles Hubbard Judd was one of the leaders of this plan. George Counts was a student of Charles Hubbard Judd.

George Counts finished his doctorate in education in 1916 and also studied sociology under Albion W. Small. His experience in sociology made him concentrate on the sociological dimension of educational research. He got his first job as head of the Department of Education at Delaware College. His next job was at Harris Teachers College in 1918. He left there and went to the University of Washington in 1919. George Counts then went to Yale in 1920. He returned to the University of Chicago in 1926. His long career at Teachers College, Columbia University began in 1927.

George Counts wrote "The Principles of Education" with J. Crosby Chapman. It was a philosophical, psychological, and methodological overview of American Education. The Principles of Education of 1924 favored the philosophy of John Dewey. In the 1920's Counts shared in the child-centered movement in progressive education.